Recovery impaired

[jlwilson]

Rip,
I have scoliosis which gives me some nagging lower back pain when doing heavy squats and deadlifts. My hips shift at the bottom of my squats. Even light weights of like 135 feel horrible. I have done SS several times and when I get to a pathetically "heavy" weight (155) on my squat, my back hurts and I can barely progress. I have debated in my mind rather to continue with SS or go to an intermediate progression. Being that I only weigh 185 lbs. and my numbers on all my lifts are no where close to being at an intermediate stage, I nix the idea of considering myself an intermediate. So I continue doing the SS with a 10% reduction in weight for another session to help better by technique. But then I can't even finish the last set of 5. I have tried adding light squats on Wendesday's workout, but that still does not provide enough recovery for my back to complete Friday's workout, and then turn around and do another heavy squat on Monday. My squat weight is so pathetic that I can bench more than I squat. I don't deadlift every other day, since the same pain arises, so I do them once on Mondays.

I have not trained in 2 months. I would like to weight train again and get my numbers up, but I dread doing SS again (for the 4th time) and aggravate my back with squats and deadlifts. I would like your opinion about me starting with the TM. My reasoning is based on the above information. I know that I'm supposed to make as much progress as I can on a daily progression workout, but I've tried several times and get stuck at the same place each time. I think a heavy light medium week would suit me well. I promise to work hard.

[Mark Rippetoe]

Before we decide you have a programming issue, we'll need to rule out form problems. Video.

[jlwilson]

The video will have to wait. The first time I did SS, which was before I got the books, I was able to squat 200 lbs with an improper belt (wide back). At the time I didn't have PPST and I didn't know what to do when I missed reps, so thats why I'm not lifting more than that now. I don't think I could have progressed that far without it. I think it helped tighten my abs, which helped protect my back. But for some reason I got into this mind frame that I was cheating and using the belt as a crutch and that I wasn't developing "functional strength". I've cleared my head of those thoughts for now. Even though my numbers are considered at a novice level, they are heavy to me. Would I be a canidate for a proper lifting belt?

[JoeBL]

Do you know why you have scoliosis? Might be an idea to address the reason for this, as I had suffered with this for about a year. I think for most people the condition is not due to something structural like having one leg shorter than the other. For me the scoliosis resulted in my Quadratus Lumborum (left side) going into painful spasm and made the bottom position of a squat feel awful.
When you squat does one hip feel positioned higher than the other? For me this was my right hip and it felt really noticeable at the bottom of a squat, as it would shift up and to the right. I addressed this by using pvc pipe to massage quads and adductors, this helped to some degree. the real cure though was when I saw a PT who determined my upper body was rotated about 5-10 degrees anti-clockwise and that the scoliosis occured through my body trying to correct the imbalance. If you have always had scoliosis, my very limited knowledge would suggest it's structural, but if not i'm sure it's curable. Hope this helps.

[Mark Rippetoe]

If a belt obscures the problem, it might not serve useful purpose.

[jlwilson]

I was diagnosed with scoliosis when I was 10-11 y/o. When I was 3, I was in a car accident and I fractured my right femur. I had 2 surgeries and laid just in bed, from what I remember. I think this might have caused or even contributed to my scoliosis. I've had x-rays done by a chiropracter and he noticed that the right hip rides significantly higher than the left. I also have an undiagnosed either sway back or hyperlordosis, as my lower back appears hyper extended and my belly protrudes. Prolong periods of standing, maintaining a bent over position (like working on a car), and squatting causes me discomfort. I don't do any bent over rows, straight leg deadlift, or back extensions as this causes intense pain to my lower back which radiates to my gluteus and hamstrings. Deadlifts and squats began to hurt when the weight starts to get even moderately heavy. I even noticed that my right lower back is more developed than my left side and from what I can feel is that my right side is doing most of the work of stabilizing. I do not want to avoid doing squats or deadlifts, so that is why I suggested getting a belt for weight training.

[Mark Rippetoe]

Is your right femur short? Have you tried squatting/pulling on a shim?

[jlwilson]

Well, the right leg is short because my right hip is high. No I haven't used a shim. Would I need to go to a licensed person to get one?

[Mark Rippetoe]

Fractured femurs don't generally end up longer than the factory job, so it may be that something else is going on here. You don't need a license to put a piece of rubber mat under the short foot. Yet.